Pocahontas

Although not strictly adhering to the facts of Pocahontas's life (much of which is shrouded in speculation anyway), Disney's got the spirit right in this wondrously animated and immensely charming love story between the famous Native American young woman (voiced by Irene Bedard) and Capt. John Smith (Mel Gibson). A talented group fleshes out the secondary characters, including the voices of Linda Hunt, Russell Means, and Christian Bale. And, of course, the music by Alan Mencken soars. Taking in over $140 million at the boxoffice, Pocahontas is destined to be a smash hit on video. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review--May 3, 2005--Disney, 2 discs, 84 min., G, $29.99--Making its second appearance on DVD, 1995's Pocahontas benefits from a new DVD transfer that represents a substantial improvement over the original release. Bonus features on the first disc of this double-disc set include two different versions of the film (one with an additional song by costar Mel Gibson), audio commentary by producer James Pentecost and directors Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel, a “Disney Art Project” that shows viewers how to make a dreamcatcher or a drum out of household materials, a “Follow Your Heart” interactive game, two sing-along songs, and a music video for “Colors of the Wind.” The second disc includes a solid “making-of” featurette (28 min.), a section on designing each of the characters with videos and photo galleries (20 min.), nine deleted scenes (15 min.), a featurette on music (7 min.), the original “If I Never Knew You” music video along with a “making-of” the cartoon version (9 min.), a multi-language clip reel of the “Colors of the Wind” song (4 min.), a featurette on the film's Central Park premiere (4 min.), an early presentation reel (4 min.), four production progression scenes (4 min.), a storyboard-to-film comparison (2 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: another excellent Disney "Platinum" release, this is highly recommended.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 28, 2012—Walt Disney, 154 min., G, $39.99—Making their first appearance on Blu-ray, 1995's Pocahontas and 1998's Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World both sport great transfers and DTS-HD 5.1 soundtracks. Bonus features include audio commentary on Pocahontas by producer James Pentecost and co-directors Eric Goldberg and Mike Gabriel, deleted scenes (15 min.), a “Drawing Inspiration: The Lost Story of Hiawatha” featurette on the never-before-seen animated film that inspired Pocahontas (12 min.), the 1937 cartoon short “Little Hiawatha” (9 min.), a soundtrack featurette (7 min.), the deleted song “If I Never Knew You” (5 min.), and a DVD storybook on Pocahontas II, as well as the BD-Live function, and bonus DVD copies of the films. Bottom line: a wonderful Disney ‘90s animated classic makes a welcome debut on Blu-ray with a nice bonus sequel.]